Chapter 272 - 270: Family Heirloom

Chapter 272: Chapter 270: Family Heirloom

"Yiyi, if Zhang Zhe ever bullies you in the future, just tell me. I’ll hold him down and let you bully him back..."

After dinner, Mrs. Zhang took Xia Yi’s hand and didn’t let go.

Much like when Mother Xia had grilled Zhang Zhe, she asked about every detail of Xia Yi’s family background, perhaps even more thoroughly.

And with every question she asked, she would paint a beautiful picture of the future for Miss Xia.

Listening to her, Zhang Zhe started to think he was in for a hellish life after marriage.

He’d have to take any scolding or hitting without fighting back, or else he’d face the combined wrath of his mom and his wife.

After she was done with her questions, just as Zhang Zhe had expected, Mrs. Zhang brought out a small red box from the bedroom, just a little larger than an old-fashioned aluminum lunchbox.

Zhang Zhe had seen everything in the box as a child. It was a collection of old, handed-down jewelry, including things like bracelets and hairpins.

"Yiyi, this is our first time meeting, and I didn’t prepare a proper gift," Mrs. Zhang said as she unlocked the box. "But I happen to have a few little trinkets here..."

"Auntie, there’s no need for gifts. When my parents met Zhang Zhe, they didn’t prepare anything for him either."

Although Xia Yi was very curious to see what the "family heirloom" Zhang Zhe had mentioned looked like, she still had to refuse out of politeness.

"No, no, you must. Besides, it’s nothing too valuable." Mrs. Zhang’s tone left no room for argument.

She took out a bundle of red cloth from the box. After unwrapping it, she revealed a jade bracelet.

Zhang Zhe had studied this thing a million times before. The bracelet did have a fair amount of green, but it was full of cotton-like inclusions and wasn’t worth much money.

Its symbolic value far outweighed its monetary worth.

"This bracelet was passed down from my mother-in-law, Zhang Zhe’s paternal grandmother."

"But look at me..." Mrs. Zhang showed her wrist. "My arms are too thick, I can’t get it on at all, so it’s just been sitting here."

"Here, Yiyi, you try it on."

"Ah? I don’t know if I should." Xia Yi turned to glance at Zhang Zhe, her eyes asking for his opinion.

What could Zhang Zhe say? The moment he even looked like he was about to speak, his mom and dad would glare at him, not even giving him a chance to open his mouth.

"Yiyi, don’t look at Zhang Zhe. He can’t tell me, his mother, what to do. This is my gift to you."

"To be blunt, even if you two don’t end up together, that would just be Zhang Zhe’s loss. I’m still giving you this bracelet."

After saying this, Mrs. Zhang reached out to help Xia Yi put on the bracelet.

Miss Xia pursed her lips and hesitated for just a moment before cooperatively extending her left hand.

The size was perfect; she could slide it on with just enough room.

"Oh, wonderful," Mrs. Zhang said, clapping her hands. "I knew it. This bracelet was bound to look good on you."

"It seems I gave it to the right person."

"Here, Yiyi, there are some other small pieces of jewelry in here. See if there’s anything else you like?"

"No, that’s quite all right, Auntie. This bracelet is more than enough." Xia Yi politely declined the box Mrs. Zhang offered her and said sensibly, "Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of it."

"Good, good, good." Mrs. Zhang nodded repeatedly, her face blossoming into a wide smile.

After putting the box back in the bedroom, she took Xia Yi’s hand again and began recounting Zhang Zhe’s life story.

From the day he was born all the way to when he started college.

If Zhang Zhe hadn’t reminded them that it was getting late and he needed to take Xia Yi home, Mrs. Zhang probably wouldn’t have been willing to let her go.

...

In the car on the way home.

Xia Yi sat in the passenger seat, lifting her hand from time to time to look at the bracelet on her wrist, smiling foolishly several times.

As they were getting close to her home, she finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked Zhang Zhe, "When will your matchmaking agency be considered truly up and running?"

"I’m anxious about it too," Zhang Zhe said, scratching his head. "This is the first time I’ve ever felt time pass so slowly."

He understood the meaning behind her words.

The sooner the matchmaking agency stabilized, the sooner the two of them could formally discuss marriage. This was an understanding they had reached earlier.

"But there’s no rush, really. Don’t work yourself too hard, Zhang Zhe." Xia Yi thought of all the books at Zhang Zhe’s house, knowing the young man beside her was working very hard. She comforted him, "Look, I’ve already accepted Auntie’s bracelet."

"You can take your time to build your career. Most of my classmates aren’t married yet, so we’re still young."

"Mhm, okay." Zhang Zhe reached out and took Xia Yi’s hand. "But classmates aren’t always a good reference. I have a classmate who, from high school until now, has never even held a girl’s hand."

"What? There are people like that?" Xia Yi laughed in surprise.

"Really, I’m not kidding," Zhang Zhe explained. "To get him married, his mom started setting him up with divorcees when he was just twenty-eight."

"When I get the chance, I’ll introduce you to my classmates. They’re all pretty interesting."

"Okay, I’d like that," Xia Yi said, nodding with an expectant look on her face.

After dropping off Xia Yi and returning home, Zhang Zhe checked the time. It was too late to do a livestream.

’Since I have some free time, I should edit some videos.’

After turning on his computer, Zhang Zhe suddenly felt like he had forgotten something important.

He thought hard for a moment before it hit him—he had forgotten about the system’s reward!

He quickly opened the system interface:

[Congratulations, Host, on successfully introducing your matchmaking partner to your parents. The Host’s parents are extremely satisfied with Ms. Xia, with a satisfaction rating of 100%.]

[Reward: 500 Happiness Points.]

[Current Happiness Points Balance: 1201.]

[Item Unlocked: Confession Pill.]

[Cost to redeem: 50 Happiness Points per pill. Can be redeemed an unlimited number of times.]

[Item Description: This is a special pill developed by ancient Cultivators to ensure fairness in the game of Truth or Dare. After consuming this pill, anyone within a 3-meter radius will be able to hear the user’s innermost thoughts. Duration: 10 minutes. (Host use only.)]

’This pill... it feels like something straight out of a power-fantasy novel... "After I’m reborn, everyone can hear my thoughts?"’

Zhang Zhe looked at the item description and pondered the pill’s function.

The pill could only be used by him, so it must be for his convenience in some situation.

’Under what circumstances would I need to use this pill?’

’It must be for times when some things are inconvenient to say directly but desperately need to be expressed.’

’If I use this pill together with the Heart-Opening Fruit, Xia Yi and I could hear each other’s thoughts at the same time...’

’But it doesn’t necessarily have to be used on Xia Yi. If I ever have a client who’s in trouble, letting them hear some of my internal complaints might have a surprisingly good effect.’

’This is good stuff. It could be incredibly useful if I use it right!’

Zhang Zhe suddenly had a very bold idea. Perhaps he could use this pill to open the door to a whole new world.

The key to that door was probably waiting for him on his WeChat right now.

But Zhang Zhe wasn’t in a hurry. He first looked at the system’s next mission.

[Please continue to advance your relationship with Ms. Xia. The next stage requires arranging a meeting between both sets of parents to discuss engagement matters and reach a preliminary agreement. "Setting a date for the engagement party" is the main objective for this stage.]

[Please note: To maintain equality between both parties before marriage, the Host must ensure that the contributions from both the man’s and the woman’s families during the engagement phase are equal.]

[Reward for this stage: 999 Happiness Points.]

[We wish the Host a successful engagement soon.]

"I hope you’re right." Zhang Zhe smiled and closed the system interface. That 999-point reward was a very pleasing sight.

The system’s missions were constantly pushing him forward. Now that things were progressing toward an engagement, Zhang Zhe’s own circumstances were still a bit lacking.

Zhang Zhe thought for a moment, then opened WeChat and found Old Bai, whom he hadn’t contacted in a few days:

"President Bai, about that private matchmaking business you mentioned last time—when are you free to talk?"